Geddy Lee Reveals the Most-Prized Guitars in His Collection

Rush front man Geddy Lee didn't start collecting musical instruments until just a few years ago when his iconic progressive rock band began to wind down his career.

Lee — who admits he's maniacal about all of his passions, like baseball, vinyl and wine — says that once he acquired one bass (a 1953 Fender Precision) just for collection's sake, he couldn't help but fully dig into the history of the instrument he'd been playing for some 50 years.

Now, about four years and some 250 basses later, the front man is an expert on the instrument and the author of a brand new book, Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass, which is available now!

One is a 1961 Fender Precision Bass that was owned by The Who'sJohn Entwistle. Lee acquired it with the help of The Who's longtime guitar tech, Alan Rogan.

The other gem of Lee's collection is a pair of 1964 Fender Jazz Basses in decoder red.

"One spent its life under a bed, it's barely been played; it's pristine," he explains. "And the other one pictured beside it I found in Ireland, and it was owned by a single bass player who played in his own Irish show band for 45 years. And when I open the case of that, the first thing that comes out is the smell of cigarettes and beer. And that thing has war wounds, and Oh my god, it took my tech, [John "Skully" McIntosh], weeks to clean that thing up and make it playable. But when you see the two side-by-side, it really tells such a wonderful story."

And for someone who for many years only saw the bass as a means to a creative end, he likes knowing that a particular guitar has a story to tell.

The Big Beautiful Book of Bass isn't just about Lee's personal collection. His book also contains interviews with bass greats like formerRolling Stonesbassist Bill Wyman, longtime Ozzy Osbournestudio bassist and collaborator Bob Daisley, Metallica's Robert Trujillo, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and others.

You can watch the full Out of the Box interview above!

Lee adds that once he's finished promoting his book, he'll begin to plan his next musical project.

101.5 WIBA-FM is the heritage rock station in Madison, Wisconsin, boasting over 48 years of rock and roll. WIBA-FM features The Bob and Tom Show in the mornings, followed by Van Edwards, Sly, and Radio Free Madison with Quinn. With a strategic blend of the best classic rock and its 50,000-watt signal, WIBA-FM reaches 16 counties surrounding Madison. 101.5 WIBA-FM is proud to be the home of Green Bay Packers football and Wisconsin Badgers football and basketball.